JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 111,586 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation $FCF

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 760,796 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,586 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $12,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 46.9% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,480 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,847 shares of the bank’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FCF stock opened at $17.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.10. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $13.54 and a 52 week high of $19.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.79.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 20.88% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $137.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

First Commonwealth Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 1st that allows the company to buyback $25.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 price objective on First Commonwealth Financial and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $34,685.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 80,311 shares in the company, valued at $1,344,406.14. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jane Grebenc sold 18,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total transaction of $350,572.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 158,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,996,678.75. The trade was a 10.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,635 shares of company stock valued at $417,719. 2.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Commonwealth Financial Profile

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a bank holding company whose primary subsidiary is First Commonwealth Bank. Established in 1889 as Indiana National Bank, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to build a diversified platform of commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.

First Commonwealth offers a comprehensive suite of financial products, including deposit accounts, personal and business lending solutions, mortgage origination and servicing, treasury management, and trust and investment services.